Bioterror Alert Boxes 'Trigger False Alarms'

A network of air samplers designed to spot biothreat agents in cities across the US cannot be counted on to detect a biological attack, according to a new report.

The $87m-a-year BioWatch system was introduced by President George W Bush in 2003 to provide early warning, detection or recognition of a biological attack.

But between 2003 and 2014, the system has triggered 149 alerts, none of which have been linked to an attack or to a public health threat.

The report, by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), said the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) - which operates BioWatch - "lacks reliable information" about the system's "technical capabilities to detect a biological attack".

It stated the US government had not defined "performance characteristics" needed for BioWatch to alert authorities to a deliberate release of deadly pathogens.

It added: "(Homeland Security officials) told us that in the 12 years since BioWatch's initial deployment, they have not developed technical performance requirements against which to measure the system's ability to meet its objective."

The GAO has recommended the DHS should not pursue upgrades or enhancements to the BioWatch system until its capabilities have been established.

The BioWatch system was developed after the 2001 anthrax attacks in which five people died and 17 others were infected when lethal spores were mailed to news media offices and two Democratic US senators.

There are around 600 aerosol Gen-2 collectors on rooftops, in subway stations and at key locations in US cities including New York, Washington DC, Boston, Chicago and San Francisco.

The system is based on a vacuum which draws air through a filter, which is then manually tested for five biothreat agents, producing an alert in between 12 and 36 hours.

But it has triggered alerts after detecting biological agents that occur naturally in some parts of the US.

Among the "false alarms" was disruption at the 2004 Super Bowl in Houston and an alert in 2005 in which the National Mall in Washington was considered for closure.

The DHS has said it could help to detect a catastrophic attack - which is defined as an attack large enough to cause 10,000 casualties. It pointed out computer simulations and tests using biological agents in sealed chambers have been used to test BioWatch.

Last year, the DHS cancelled next-generation detection technology - known as Gen-3 - which would have enabled the collection and analysis of air samples in under six hours because of testing problems.

Jim Crumpacker, a senior DHS official, said: "The program provides public health officials with a warning of potentially hazardous biological agent release before exposed individuals would typically develop symptoms of illness."